A Different Kind of Fairytale
by CheesyOne
Summary: In most fairytales, the princess is rescued by a knight in shining armor. Who says she can't be rescued by the dragon instead? Peach and Charizard friendship.


What Master Hand promised to be a busy, brawl filled day quickly backfired as one of the stage teleporters had mysteriously gone missing. It was pretty obvious it was stolen, ripped right off the wall in fact, leaving electrified wires to crackle about dangerously in the air. The amazing thing about the whole fiasco was, despite the mess that was left behind, the thief left absolutely no evidence behind. They even managed to bypass all of the security cameras. Someone who was able to waltz out of the mansion with a teleporter in tow without anyone noticing... Either it was dumb luck, or that thief knew what he was doing.

Master Hand, of course, was in an uproar after the incident. He ordered a few of the Smashers, namely Zelda, Fox, and Lucario, to help him investigate the matter, and for everyone else to keep their eyes open for anything suspicious. Charizard, however, could care less about some gadget that was stolen. To him, today was as good as a day off.

He was currently resting in his favorite spot, the roof of the Smash Mansion. He let loose a mighty yawn and scratched his belly. Whoever that thief was, he couldn't have picked a more perfect day to pull off this stunt. The sun's rays were shining _just_ right on his scales, and a light, warm breeze was blowing. Maybe he'd go for a fly later...

He rolled onto his back, readjusting his wings as he did, and closed his eyes. He'd go flying after his nap, he decided. Just as he was about to loss consciousness and enter the world of dreams, a surprised shriek filled the air. Startled, the dragon jolted to his feet. From his right, he heard a familiar grumble of a laugh. Sure enough, he spotted Bowser, in his famous Clown Car, rising into the air. Charizard, angry at having his nap interrupted, was about extract his fiery vengeance on the Koopa, when he realized he had a passenger. Princess Peach, who was currently tied up with rope, was glaring at the king.

"Bowser! Put me down this instant! Master Hand had you promise that you weren't going to cause trouble as long as you stayed here! That includes kidnapping!" the angry princess yelled.

Bowser only laughed in response. "Please. Promises? Baddies like me are made to break promises!" He began to pilot the copter away from the mansion. "Now, how about we get out of here before a certain red capped idiot decides to get any bright ideas, what do you say Princess?"

"You...!"

The copter took off with surprising speed over the nearby forest and out of sight. Charizard was left debating on whether or not to go after them, when he heard the main doors slam open.

"I heard someone scream out here..." he heard a voice say. Charizard quickly identified it as Ness. "And I could have sworn I heard Bowser talking."

"Bro, do you think..?" another voice, Luigi, said.

"Yeah. Bowser's up to no good again. He must have taken Peach... But where did they go?" Mario asked.

"I didn't see where he went..."

Soon more and more voices began to gather at the front doors, all asking about what had happened. Charizard growled to himself. Thanks to this, any hope of relaxation was thrown out the window. How dare that overgrown Squirtle! He kidnaps Peach, and worst of all, he ruined his nap! With a roar and a powerful flap of his wings, he took to the skies after Bowser, leaving a stunned crowd of Smashers in his wake.

* * *

Charizard prided himself on many things. Three of which being his fire breath, his strength, and finally his flying abilities. No way would he let himself be outsped by some dinky teacup. He soon caught up with the Koopa King and his captive. At first, he wanted to dive right in and fight Bowser in the air, but after thinking about Peach, he decided to hang back and fly above them, out of sight. He didn't want Peach to get hurt after all. He'll confront Bowser when he lands.

Some time passed as trees began to give way to plains, and plains soon gave way to dusty, rocky terrain. Just where exactly was Bowser heading? Charizard let out an impatient snort. Maybe he could find a way to get Peach away from him then attack?

"It was you, wasn't it?" he barely caught Peach's voice over the wind. He flew closer to get a better listen.

"You stole the teleporter, didn't you?"

"Gwahaha! Guilty as charged, Princess!" Bowser grinned. "I forget how clever you are sometimes. I had some of my minions set it up in a castle out here. Do you know why?" Bowser began to lower the copter toward a dilapidated structure situated on a cliff. Charizard recognized it as Dedede's old castle.

"With a little reprogramming," Bowser continued, "that teleporter could be set up to connect anywhere. Do you understand? We're going to take a lovely vacation... Just you and me! That old plumber will never be able to find us! Gwahaha!" He landed the copter before the castle.

Peach began to struggle against her bindings, but to no avail. "Bowser, let me go! I'm not going with you!" she cried.

Bowser hefted the princess over his shoulder, ignoring her complaints. "I know you're excited, Peach, but please just try to relax until we get there, all right?"

Charizard decided he had seen just about enough of this. Letting out a battle cry, he landed between Bowser and the caste. His sudden appearance shocked the two royals.

"Ch-Charizard?!" Peach called out.

Bowser's shock soon shifted to anger. "Hmph. I didn't expect you of all people to interfere. Why don't you make this easy for the both of us and move outta the way?"

Charizard responded by spitting a small ember of fire at the Koopa's feet.

Enraged, Bowser set Peach back into the Clown Car and took a fighting stance. "Aren't Pokemon supposed to do what they are told? Whatever. If you're going to stand in my way, then I'll just have to beat you down," he snarled.

The two sized each other up, waiting for the first strike. Bowser made the first move, charging at his opponent with his head lowered.

A ramming attack? Charizard had expected something better from the King of Koopas. He decided to hold his ground. It would be simple enough to dodge, and Bowser would be left wide open for a counterattack.

Moments before the collision, however, Bowser retreated into his shell and Charizard found himself faced with a whirling fortress. It already was far too late to dodge, so he went with his only other option and grabbed it. The friction of the spinning shell burned his hands and he felt himself skid back a few feet. He refused to let go of the shell, however. Digging his claws into it, he forced the shell to come to a halt, and soon found himself face to face with a pair of glowing red eyes. He pulled his head back just in time to avoid a savage bite from Bowser. Seeing an opportunity, Charizard retaliated with a headbutt strong enough to crush boulders. The recoil was so strong that he ended up dropping Bowser in favor of rubbing his now aching forehead.

After landing, he backed away from Charizard, clutching painfully at his own ringing head. Not willing to let the Pokemon get away with the attack, he ignored the searing pain and charged at him once again. This time, instead of retreating into his shell, he leapt into the air and delivered a fierce drop kick straight into the Pokemon's gut.

The blow sent Charizard reeling onto his back. Over his splitting headache and the pain in his stomach, he thought he heard Princess Peach calling his name. He felt a clawed hand close tightly around his throat, bringing his focus back to the battle. Opening his eyes revealed Bowser's hulking figure towering over him.

"What's the matter Charizard? Can't fight without having your precious Trainer telling you what to do?" Bowser said, forming his free hand into a fist. "I've worked on this plan for too long to be beaten by some Pokemon!" he roared, pulling his fist back.

Well, he had been training for far too long to be beaten by some Koopa! He unleashed a torrent of flame onto Bowser's face. The attack was enough to force him away and allow Charizard to get back on his feet. Even as he stood back up, he never relented with his attack.

Bowser, however, was no stranger to fire himself and answered Charizard's Flamethrower with his own fiery breath. The flames collided and the two were locked in a stalemate, neither refusing to back down.

Despite his will, though, Charizard felt his Flamethrower weakening, and his lungs were desperate for air, especially after Bowser had choked him. Switching tactics, he cut off his Flamethrower and quickly dodged Bowser's fire breath. Taking only a moment to rest, he spat a black ball of smoke at the ground. The ball exploded upon contact, encasing the battlefield in a thick Smokescreen.

Coughing slightly, Bowser tried to search through the haze for his opponent, but the smoke was simply to thick to see anything. "What's with the dirty tricks? Can't fight me head on?" he taunted. He heard the sound of wings flapping somewhere to his left. "There you are!" he charged toward the sound, but was only met with more smoke. His frustration finally started to boil over. "All right!" he roared. "Quit hiding already and fight me!" Not a moment after he uttered those words, he felt something latch onto his back. "Wh-what the?!" The next thing he knew, he was being lifted into the air.

Charizard still prided himself on his strength and flight capabilities, and this was going to be the ultimate test for both of them. Out of all of the Smashers, Bowser had to be the heaviest. His constant thrashing did not make things any easier, nor did his constant yelling. Most of the phrases he shouted went something along the lines of 'overgrown lizard' and 'let me go'. Despite the toll this was taking on his body, Charizard smirked. He'll let him go all right...

With a powerful beat of his wings, Charizard pushed himself backwards. For a moment he was flying upside down, his back facing the ground. The next moment, the two were falling head first toward the earth with ever increasing speed. Moments before hitting the ground, Charizard let go of his cargo, finishing his powerful Seismic Toss, and flew off without harm. As for Bowser...

CRRRRAAASH!

The impact left a massive, smoking crater in the ground. At its very center lay Bowser, beaten and unconscious.

Charizard let out a victorious roar circled the crater several times before landing in front of the Clown Car. Peach was staring at him with a mixture of respect and awe.

"That was incredible Charizard... Did you really come to save me?"

Charizard nodded and lifted Peach out of the copter, cutting the ropes with his claws. He turned his back to her, motioning her to climb on.

Peach hesitated. "Are you sure you can carry me back? You got awfully hurt in that battle..."

In response, he let out a friendly grumble and smiled. He still had plenty of energy left! He was Red's strongest Pokemon after all. Another thing he prided himself on.

Though she was still hesitant, Peach climbed onto Charizard's back. "If you say you can do it, then all right. I'm sorry you have to go through so much trouble because of me... I just didn't think Bowser would pull something like that here of all places."

Charizard dismissed her concerns with a wave of his claw. He got ready to head back home, before taking a glance at the crater. What should he do with Bowser?

"We can leave him here for now. Call it a hunch, but I don't think he's going anywhere," Peach said. "Besides, I don't think Master Hand will let him escape too easily once he hears about this." At that, Charizard laughed. Feeling everything was settled there, he rose into the sky and back to the mansion with Peach in tow.

* * *

By the time they got back to the mansion, the sun was just beginning to set. Charizard had barely landed before they were bombarded by a very panicked Master Hand.

"Princess Peach! Oh, thank goodness you found her, Charizard! Are you all right? What happened? I have most of the mansion out there looking for you!"

"Oh my! It's getting dark out. We better get everyone home! I can tell you what happened then. But first..." Peach motioned for Charizard to come closer.

Confused, he leaned his head forward. When he got close enough, Peach gave a small kiss, right on the tip of his nose. Surprised, Charizard jumped back a bit and looked away bashfully.

Peach giggled at the reaction. "Thank you for rescuing me, Charizard!" she made a small curtsy and left with Master Hand back into the mansion, most likely to call everyone back.

Even though he was a fire type, he felt slightly warmer than usual. He watched as the sun slowly sunk behind the mountains. Maybe this day didn't turn out so bad after all.


End file.
